MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's tennis team started strong against Georgia State and never looked back as the Jags dropped the Panthers 6-1 Sunday at the Bruce David Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts.
 
The Jaguars improve to 7-2 with the win, while Georgia State fell to 6-5. The victory breaks the tie in the overall record between the two teams to give USA a 3-2 lead.
 
"It was quite a battle," said South Alabama head coach Nick Brochu. "It could have easily gone either way. Yesterday was a good win, but today feels even better because they're conference rivals. It's a good mental win today."
 
In doubles, the Jaguars opened with a 6-3 win at No. 2 when junior Oliver Gingras (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) and freshman Clement Marzol (Toulouse, France) defeated Sebastian Acuna and Andrei Andrukhou. Senior Juan Cruz Soria (San Juan, Argentina) and freshman Loic Cloes (Remicourt, Belgium) secured the doubles point with a 7-6 victory over Zackery Kennedy and Jannis Koeke on court No. 1.
 
"We played with different, brand new doubles teams, and it worked out great," Brochu said. "The chemistry was there. We went back and forth, and we talked about this before the match. Don't be surprised, and it's not about what you miss. It's about what you do right after that."
 
South Alabama took a 3-0 lead by taking the first two singles matches. Marzol downed Andrukhou 6-0, 6-2 at No. 3, and Cloes bested Felipe Jaworski 6-2, 7-5 at No. 6. Soria clinched the victory for the Jags by defeating Koeke 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 on court No. 2.
 
"You've got to play to win," said Brochu. "I'm very proud of the guys, and what I really like is yesterday, some guys were the big heroes, and today is different guys. It was a great team effort over the weekend."
 
In other singles action, senior No. 50 Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) rallied to beat No. 84 Kennedy 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 on court No. 1. Gingras defeated Quentin Coulaud 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at No. 4, and sophomore Lucas Gonzalez (Chateauroux, France) fell to Jack MacFarlane 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5.
 
"Guys like Tuki at the end, closing his match in three sets was awesome," Brochu said. "We know we're going to see them again, possibly in the final of the conference tournament. Next time we face them, we know we can beat them."
 
The Jags return to action Thursday with a home doubleheader.  At 10:00 a.m. South Alabama will face off against Jacksonville State and then take on Jackson State at 2:00 p.m.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).